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"The Christianity of history is not Protestantism. If ever there were a safe truth it is this, and Protestantism has ever felt it so; to be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant." (-John Henry Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine).

"Where the bishop is, there let the people gather; just as where ever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church".-St. Ignatius of Antioch (ca 110 AD)a martyr later thrown to the lions, wrote to a church in Asia Minor. Antioch was also where the term "Christian" was first used.

“But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” 1 Timothy 3:15

"This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic." -CCC 811

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Is it true that the Iglesia Ni Cristo® membership is rising? Michael Buesa of Rappler.com reported in July 26, 2014 a day before the INC's 100 Year Founding Anniversary the following:

"There are a total of 2,251,941 members of the INC in the Philippines, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO). It is a 28% increase, from 1,762,845 in 2000."

The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported that in 2000 INC's total membership was 1.76 million of which it increased to 2.25 million in 2014. Translate that it means for 14 long years, the Iglesia Ni Cristo® increased just only 487,155 members only. And for a hundred years, just roughly 2.25 millions?

Perhaps, that's the reason why the Iglesia Ni Cristo Administration do not want to divulge their exact members. But something the INC cannot contradict is the fact that their church, has nothing to do with the original Church of Jesus Christ...

Defending the Church

266th Pope of the Church

PRAYER FOR POPE FRANCIS

Lord, source of eternal life and truth,You have looked with mercy upon your servant Francis and called him to follow you.

Give him a spirit of courage and right judgement, and a spirit of knowledge and love.

By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he, as successor to the apostle Peter, Servant of the Servants of God, Bishop of Rome, son of Ignatius of Loyola and disciple of Francis of Assisi, build Your church into a sacrament of unity, love, mercy and peace for all the world.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

About the BIBLE

"As Catholics were responsible for writing the New Testament (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit), the Catholic Church doesn't "interpret" the Bible. We explain it. Protestants can only "interpret", because they are not the author (guided by the Holy Spirit), and therefore, can only guess at the possible meaning of a chapter, passage or phrase, just as anyone can only guess at any author's intentions in any other book. As the author, the Catholic Church is the only proper authority to consult in matters pertaining to the Bible." -Catholic Truth

The Original Names of the 12 Apostles

It’s one of those first things that you memorize in 2nd grade or in religious education: the names of the 12 Apostles of Jesus. We’ve all heard their names in Scripture and in prayers countless times. Also, they are probably some of the most commonly given names in the world! But Jesus would not have called them John or Thomas or Andrew or Peter, etc… those are all Anglicized version of the names of the Apostles. The English language didn't even exist at the time of the Apostles!

So what would their names have sounded like when spoken by Our Lord and what did those names mean? Here are the original forms of the names of the 12 Apostles and their meanings:

Peter The name Peter is derived, via Latin "petra", from the Greek word πέτρος (petros) meaning "stone" or "rock". According to the New Testament, Jesus gave Saint Peter (whose given name was Simon) the name Kephas or Cephas meaning "stone" in Aramaic.

Andrew English form of the Greek name Ανδρεας (Andreas), which was derived from ανδρειος (andreios) "manly, masculine", a derivative of ανηρ (aner) "man".

James the Greater & James The Lesser English form of the Late Latin name Iacomus which was derived from Ιακωβος (Iakobos), the New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name Ya'aqov. The name comes from the Old Testament figure, Jacob (later called Israel) who was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see Genesis 27:36).

John English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious".

Philip From the Greek name Φιλιππος (Philippos) which means "friend of horses", composed of the elements φιλος (philos) "friend, lover" and ‘ιππος(hippos) "horse"

Bartholomew From Βαρθολομαιος (Bartholomaios), which was the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "son of TALMAI".

Matthew English form of Ματθαιος (Matthaios), which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Mattityahu) meaning "gift of YAHWEH".

Thomas Greek form of the Aramaic name תָּאוֹמָא (Ta'oma') which meant "twin". (Apparently Thomas looked very much like Our Lord).

Jude (Thaddeus) & Judas Iscariot From the Hebrew יְהוּדָה (Yehudah) which meant "praised". From Ιουδας (Ioudas), the Greek form of JUDAH.

Simon The Zealot From Σιμων (Simon), the New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name שִׁמְעוֹן (Shim'on) which meant "he has heard". This name is spelled Simeon, based on Greek Συμεων, in many translations of the Old Testament